Down Time Rescheduled — A critical network upgrade must be performed to ensure continued operation of Twitter. In coordination with Twitter, our network host had planned this upgrade for tonight. However, our network partners at NTT America recognize the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran.

Web Users in Iran Reach Overseas for Proxies — As voting protests in Iran devolved into violence, and communications remained sporadic, Internet users in the country are calling for proxies they can use to stay online unmonitored. Twitter, a hub of activity since the rallies began …

Activists Launch Hack Attacks on Tehran Regime — While demonstrators gather in the streets to contest Iran's rigged election, online backers of the so-called “Green Revolution” are looking to strike back at the Tehran regime — by attacking the government's websites.

Jeff Bezos at Wired Disruptive by Design conference — Jeff Bezos is very quotable. Listeing to Steve Levy interview him at the Wired Disruptive by Design event in New York, I was furiously taking notes. Here are the quotes I managed to capture: — “We've co-evolved with our tools …

Apple iPhone 3GS Sold Out? Nope! — Quick, how many blogs have you read since yesterday suggesting that pre-orders for the new Apple iPhone 3GS [AAPL Loading... () ] have been so robust, that they're already sold out? Boy Genius Report had that news yesterday.

Facebook Finally Catches Up To MySpace In The U.S. — It's over. Facebook is now as large as MySpace in the U.S., according to May data released today by comScore. Facebook actually passed MySpace by a smidgeon, with 70.278 million unique visitors compared to MySpace's 70.255 million.

Hunch: Your “Personal Decision Maker” — Hunch is not a “search engine” insists Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, one of the people behind the new site. But you'll probably start seeing it show up in (Google) search results, just like Wikipedia or Yahoo Answers.

US senators ask FCC to review mobile handset deals — Several U.S. senators urged regulators on Monday to review exclusive arrangements regarding mobile handset technology between wireless carriers and cell phone makers and how they affect competition and choice in the marketplace.

AT&T signals an abrupt end for prepaid iPhone plans — Update 4: I am working with an AT&T spokesperson to try to detangle the contradictory information discussed below. No results as yet, but will update when that becomes possible. — I just spent the last half hour on the phone with AT&T, and I can't quite believe what I heard.

AT&T: MMS ‘no extra cost’ for text bundle customers — Good news, everyone: it sounds like you can take a (brief) break from throwing darts at AT&T's logo and photos of its various executives. Thanks to a new FAQ from the carrier that focuses on iPhone 3G S and some of iPhone OS 3.0's new features …

Sun Is Said to Cancel Big Chip Project — Sun Microsystems may have dropped a bit of weight by the time Oracle officially acquires the company. According to two people briefed on Sun's plans, the company has canceled its Rock chip project, putting an end to one of its biggest revitalization bets.

Google: The Data Center Is the Computer — As folks increasingly store and access information online, the data centers powering cloud services need to be managed more like a single computing entity rather than a bunch of servers, according to a Google white paper (Google calls it a mini-book) released today.

Trust, hostility, and the human side of Apple — An iPhone app developer's world is lonely. We were legally prevented by NDA from forming any communities for many months after the SDK was launched, and even now, there are no significantly sized iPhone developer communities …

Twitter Takes A Breather — After experiencing torrid growth during the first months of the year, Twitter took a breather in May. According to new comScore data released today, Twitter had 17.6 million U.S. visitors in May, which is only 3.5 percent increase from the 17 million U.S. visitors comScore registered in April.

Microsoft to announce Azure business plan next month — Microsoft plans to announce next month more of the business details behind its Windows Azure operating system. — The software maker unveiled the cloud-based operating system at a developer conference last year.

Zune service and Xbox Live offline Tuesday — Microsoft is taking down the Zune and Xbox Live services tomorrow to work on features that will be coming later this year. — Tomorrow at 12:01 AM PST, Microsoft will be taking down the whole Zune service, which includes the Zune Social, the forums on Zune.net, and the Zune Marketplace.

Tech Companies Stay Close to Home for Acquisitions — Tech companies buy their neighbors much more often than they acquire companies elsewhere, according to a study of tech acquisitions since 2002. — The conclusion isn't shocking. There are a number of reasons why a buyer would be more familiar with companies based nearby.

Facebook and The Washington Post: More Than Meets the Eye — The Washington Post has pushed out Facebook Connect integration, allowing readers to login to the site using their Facebook credentials as opposed to a WashingtonPost.com account. — On the surface, this is a really simple implementation …

Turning the Masses Onto Mobile Broadband — BERLIN — After two years of rapid growth, mobile broadband, the wireless industry's most successful innovation of the past decade, is at a crossroads as operators struggle to maintain fast, omnipresent service in the face of exploding Internet traffic.